


Sitcom GIFs

by tunglo



Category: Multi-Fandom
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-12-17 23:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tunglo/pseuds/tunglo
Summary: GIFsets and write ups looking at LGBTQ+ issues in retro UK sitcoms, originally posted to Tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter Index. (You are here!)

* * *

**1960s**

★ [On The Buses](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11862009/chapters/26784306). 1969 - Aunt Maud wants to know why Stan still isn't married.

* * *

**1970s**

★ [Steptoe and Son](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11862009/chapters/26823087). 1970 - An antiques' dealer takes an interest in Harold's future; Albert tries to warn him he must be an 'iron hoof'.

★ [Bless This House](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11862009/chapters/26783805). 1971 - Sid wishes his son was more of a man's man, especially when he discovers he's befriended a ballet dancer named Eugene...

* * *

1980s

* * *

1990s

* * *

2000s


	2. Bless This House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bless This House, 1971. Sid wishes his son was more of a man's man - especially when he learns he's going out with a ballet dancer named Eugene.

  
  


[Bless This House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_This_House_\(UK_TV_series\)) was a popular ITV (Thames Television) sitcom which ran for six series between 1971 and 1976, and spawned a feature film in 1972. It followed stationery salesman Sid Abbott (Carry On star and household name [Sid James](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_James)) as he attempted to make sense of the cultural chasm between himself and his children, 16-year-old schoolgirl Sally and 18-year-old layabout Mike, fresh out of art college and more interested in political protest than finding gainful employment.

This clip is from the very first episode, ‘The Generation Gap’, which originally aired 2nd February 1971. Sid is worried about his kids - Sally has taken to wearing padded bras and appears to be on the contraceptive pill, while Mike doesn’t seem to be interested in attracting the opposite sex at all. Of course, it eventually turns out that Mike and Eugene are taking a pair of nurses on a double date, and that Sid has been worrying about nothing all along. I still like how they actually approach it with Mike though, for all the freaking out going on when he’s not in the room. He’s their son first and foremost.

The other thing I like about this episode is how it highlights the stupidity of Sid’s double standards. It’s completely unacceptable for Sally to want a boyfriend, but he’s dismayed that Mike - who is only slightly older - isn’t out with a different girl every night. His justification that ‘it’s different for boys, they can’t get into trouble’ is called out for the hypocrisy it is, and his plans to get Mike to act more promiscuously backfire spectacularly.

The double standard was a theme the show dealt with regularly, and more explicitly than a lot of its contemporaries. It was far from revolutionary, but it’s satisfying all the same to see Sid’s old fashioned ideas constantly challenged and get him into trouble.

You can watch the full episode on YouTube [HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOyH7rszuXE).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a mirror of this post on Tumblr [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156359245633/bless-this-house-was-a-popular-itv-thames).


	3. On The Buses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On The Buses, 1969. Aunt Maud comes to visit and asks awkward questions about why Stan isn't married - and why he spends so much time with his bus conductor.

 

  
  
  


[On the Buses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Buses) was a hugely popular ITV sitcom - like, it had its own comic strip and the stars were mobbed in the streets popular - with seven series and three feature films produced between 1969 and 1973. It followed Stan Bulter (Reg Varney), his family, and his worklife as a bus driver alongside best friend and bus conductor, Jack Harper (Bob Grant) - most of which involved skiving off and / or avoiding the wrath of Inspector ‘Blakey’ Blake (Stephen Lewis).

This clip is from S2:E4 ‘Aunt Maud’, and originally aired at 7pm on 21st June 1969 to an audience of millions. When Aunt Maud comes to stay, she asks awkward questions about why Arthur and Olive (Stan’s little sister) have no children despite being married nine years, and why Stan still hasn’t even managed to make it down the aisle… Like most popular ‘low brow’ sitcoms of the day, _On the Buses_ used camp innuendo for laughs - both Stan and Jack played up the limp wristed stereotype in a few episodes, usually as part of their neverending quest for ‘crumpet’ (women).

What is interesting about this scene though, imo, is that for 1969 - just two years after homosexuality was legalised in the UK - it’s a fairly frank and non-judgemental treatment. Arthur, Stan’s brother-in-law, comments ‘what a family I married into’ but Stan himself doesn’t fly off the handle, or spend longer than a few moments sulking. Nor does Arthur freak out about having to share a bed with Stan that night, so Aunt Maud can sleep in Stan’s room.

I generally think that sitcoms have been under-utilised in queer history studies because, yeah, the subject is rarely treated seriously. But. As extrememly popular entertainment, scenes like this arguably had a bigger impact - especially on younger viewers - than even highly acclaimed LGBTQ+ themed films like Ken Russell’s Women In Love, which was also released in 1969 with a X (over 18s only) certificate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a mirror of this post on Tumblr [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156327395698/on-the-buses-was-a-hugely-popular-itv-sitcom).


	4. Steptoe and Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1970 - An antiques' dealer named Timothy takes a special interest in Harold. Steptoe Snr attempts to warn him that it's not his mind Timothy's interested in, but Harold refuses to listen.

  
  
  
  


[Steptoe and Son](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son) was a massively popular BBC sitcom which ran from 1962 to 1965, then again between 1970 and 1974. It was so popular, especially with working class viewers, that the decision to push back an episode until after the polls had closed is widely credited to have swayed the 1964 general election! The show followed the lives of two rag-and-bone men, Harold Steptoe ([Harry H. Corbett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_H._Corbett)) who dreamed of a better life, and his father, Albert Steptoe ([Wilfrid Brambell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Brambell)), who was determined to keep him in his place - dreams, in Albert’s view, only lead to disappointment.

These clips are from S5:E3 ‘Any Old Iron?’ which originally aired 8th March 1970. (Probably the 8pm time slot, but don’t quote me on it!) Timothy - ‘Timmy’ as he insists Harold call him - is an antiques dealer who drops by the scrapyard on the off chance of discovering a hidden gem. Immediately captivated by Harold, he keeps returning, gifting him a pair of Venetian buttons he has had set as cufflinks and offering financial assistance so Harold can set up his own antiques business. Harold refuses to believe Timothy’s interest in him might be anything but platonic, much to Albert’s distress, at least until a candlelit dinner at Timothy’s flat ends with the older man trying to feel him up on the sofa.

Things go from bad to worse when Harold attempts to leave and opens the door to find a uniformed police officer standing on the other side of it. Harold panics, gives a false name, and flees to the house of sometime squeeze Dolly Miller to reaffirm his heterosexuality. Meanwhile, we learn that Timothy hasn’t been entirely honest himself - the policeman is actually his partner, home from work early! The next morning Albert has packed Harold’s bags and plans to disown him, at least until he realises Harold spent the night with a woman, not Timothy. Harold does not react well…

Hardly the most sensitive treatment in the world this - the predatory older gay trope is played up to the max, with Albert even suggesting he’ll have Timothy reported for corrupting a minor. (To which Harold plaintively responds: ‘Dad, I’m 39!’) Still, when you consider homosexuality had only been legalised three years earlier - on the grounds that, in the words of the Home Secretary, ‘ _those who suffer from this disability [already] carry a great weight of shame all their lives_ ’ - it’s somewhat impressive that a very popular show like Steptoe even got away with committing a whole episode to the theme.

It didn’t seem to attract any particular comment either, at least not based on a cursory google / newspaper search. It _did_ prove controversial when it was repeated for the first time in the 1990s, simply because acceptable attitudes and language had moved on such a great deal. (The clip quality is so poor because this was one of the episodes wiped by the BBC, as was their standard policy back in the 1970s, and later salvaged from a home recording.) Brambell himself was gay, of course, and after his lavender marriage broke down was even arrested for cottaging in 1962, though it did little to dent his popularity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a mirror of this post on Tumblr [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156411229173/steptoe-and-son-was-a-massively-popular-bbc-sitcom).


	5. Game On

  
  
  
  


[Game On](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_On_\(UK_TV_series\)) was a BBC sitcom which ran for three series between 1995 and 1998. It was part of the ‘lad’ genre, aimed at 20-somethings, and followed the lives of three friends who shared a flat: Martin ([Matthew Cottle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Cottle)) the ‘ginger tosser’ who spends the first season a virgin, Mandy ([Samantha Janus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Womack)) the well educated graduate who always messes up her career prospects with sex, and Matt ([Neil Stuke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Stuke))  - his parents died in a car crash and left him enough money to purchase the flat and not to need to work. Which was just as well, seeing as their deaths also left him with a crippling case of agoraphobia, on top of his abrasive and self-involved personality.

These clips are from three episodes which originally aired in September 1996 on BBC2 in the 10pm time slot. In the first, ‘[Slime Surfers and Jissom Monkeys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h36yfxQajVA)’ (S2:E2), Mandy asks her psychologist friend Jason to try and help Matt, under pretence of being her cousin recently returned from Australia. The problem with the deception, as Jason soon points out to Mandy, is that he’s ‘always had a bit of a thing for nutters’ and can tell he’s falling for Matt. After letting Matt teach him how to get a girl, and a spot of bed sharing, in the next episode ‘[Double Hard Bastards and Girly Shirt-lifting Tosspieces](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsD-X2APoo)’ Jason actually succeeds in getting Matt to leave the flat to go to the park, and then to the gym. Jason asks Martin if Matt has said anything about him - about _them_ \- and freaks Martin out when he confesses: ‘It’s terrible. I’m desperately in love with him.’ So much so that, after a rambling monologue about how he’s totally cool with ‘gay people being as gay as they want’, Martin blurts out that Matt thinks all gay men should be castrated…

Things finally come to a head in S2:E4 ‘[Heavy Bondage & Custard Creams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZUAalvRbfI)’. Mandy’s old boyfriend, Stoat, turns up out of the blue and it soon becomes apparent that he is a prison escapee - the gun he’s brandishing is something of a giveaway! Stoat ties them up, much to Martin’s dismay: ‘My girlfriend is tied to your boyfriend in my bedroom.’ Matt freaks out at that and starts talking about how totally straight he and Jason are - which leads to Martin getting Stoat to switch their bondage arrangements, and confessing to Clare, his girlfriend, that he worried Jason might just pretend to be gay to steal other guy’s girlfriends. Later, when Clare unwittingly reveals all to the rest of the gang, shit really hits the fan.

Martin apologises but Jason is left with little option but to admit the truth. Matt refuses to talk about it, changing the subject over and over until Jason warns that if he won’t engage with him about it, he’ll leave and never return. …I think this was the first time I ever wanted fix-it fic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a mirror of this post on Tumblr [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156423797288/game-on-was-a-bbc-sitcom-which-ran-for-three).


	6. Harry Enfield and Chums: Righteous Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angry Frank from Harry Enfield and Chums.

  
  
  


[**Harry Enfield and Chums**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield's_Television_Programme) was a follow up to Harry Enfield’s Television Programme, and originally ran for two series between 1994 and 1998, in the 9pm slot on BBC1 - plus Christmas specials.

This clip is of one of ‘The Righteous Brothers’ sketches - Angry Frank was a super popular character, and the pair of them even advertised [Hula Hoops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_Hoops) snacks together in 1996. Every sketch would start with a seemingly reasonable discussion about popular culture… before Frank went off on a tangent and lost his temper, big time. Here’s a bit of context for this particular sketch:

[The Generation Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Generation_Game) was the BBC’s Saturday night game show, and had been running on and off since 1971. In 1995 Jim Davidson, a stand up comedian well known for his womanizing, had just taken over presenting duties from family entertainer, Bruce Forsythe. [Michael Barrymore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Barrymore) was a fairly ubiquitous presenter of game shows and light entertainment who, following a spate of drunken and bizarre public behaviour, outed himself on a late night radio show in November 1995. A high profile divorce from his wife followed in 1996, keeping the story in the public conciousness. (Barrymore would again hit headlines in 2001 over claims of gay sex orgies which resulted in a man’s death, but that’s a story for another day!)

Google threw up no news hits for ITC complaints about these sketches, and watching them again as an adult it’s kind of surprising. There probably aren’t that many primetime presenters who would be happy about being labelled a ‘filthy disgusting pervert’ for their orientation on a flagship show today, in jest or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can also find this as a Tumblr post [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156644567483/as-kids-my-brother-and-i-were-huge-sketch-show).


	7. Harry Enfield and Chums: Amsterdam Police

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amsterdam Police sketches from Harry Enfield and Chums.

  


[**Harry Enfield and Chums**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield's_Television_Programme) was a follow up to Harry Enfield’s Television Programme, and originally ran for two series between 1994 and 1998, in the 9pm slot on BBC1 - plus Christmas specials.

These clips are from one of the popular ‘Amsterdam Police’ sketches, featuring two gay police officers talking about the Netherlands’ liberal approach to crime. In the 1990s, Amsterdam, with its brothels and its cannabis coffeeshop culture, was seen as some kind of crazy liberal lala-land in the UK - although, as the sketch points out, we really didn’t have that much to feel superior about.

It was still pretty rare to see depictions of gay police officers at the time - especially uniformed officers - but as ‘foreigners’ Stefan and Ronald got something of a free pass!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a Tumblr mirror of this post [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/157365930353/harry-enfield-and-chums-was-a-super-popular-comedy).


	8. Harry Enfield and Chums: Gay Son

  
  
  
  
  


[**Harry Enfield and Chums**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield's_Television_Programme) was a follow up to Harry Enfield’s Television Programme, and originally ran for two series between 1994 and 1998, in the 9pm slot on BBC1 - plus Christmas specials.

In these clips Harry Enfield plays a dad who claims to be completely fine with his son’s sexuality - except he can’t help but bring it up at every possible opportunity, believes the most outlandish stereotypes, and shudders with disgust every time his son’s boyfriend is near him. The first sketch is the most sympathetic to the character, but he just gets steadily worse with each subsequent appearance!

These sketches made a huge impression on me as a kid, in terms of highlighting just how stupid homophobic attitudes were. I think that’s the crux of the issue with a lot of older ‘un-PC’ comedy - from a distance we always imagine that people were laughing _with_ the reactionary character (think of all those 70s race comedies, for instance, like Till Death Do Us Part and Love Thy Neighbour) when, of course, the aim was to make audiences laugh _at_ them, whether or not that always succeeded.


	9. The Thin Blue Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clips from BBC sitcom The Thin Blue Line.

  
  
  
  
  


Clips from S2:E2 of [The Thin Blue Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_\(TV_series\)), a BBC sitcom which ran for two series between 1995 and 1996. It was written by [Ben Elton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Elton), well known at the time for his ‘right on’ liberal lefty humour, and the show dealt lightheartedly with all kinds of prejudices and discrimination. Set in a fictional small town police station, the show tackled all kinds of contemporary hot button policing issues, like police membership of the Freemasons and similar groups, and the problems of prejudiced and outdated attitudes within the force.

This episode, ‘Ism Ism Ism’, originally aired 21st November 1996 at 9:30pm on BBC1. The Mayor warns that the eyes of the world will be on how they deal with the imminent arrest of an asylum seeker who is about to get their application turned down - and she doesn’t want any PR mishaps. She tells Inspector Fowler to do some training on racism and ‘all the other isms - sexism, poofterism, lezzerism’, and not to show her or Gasforth up.

Inspector Grimm, naturally, takes exception to the initiative. He has too much important police work to be doing, like getting into the Todgers, a masonic-esque secret society that will boost his promotion chances….

* * *

 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Clips from S1:E2 (Fire and Terror) of BBC1 sitcom The Thin Blue Line, which originally aired 20th November 1995 in the 8:30pm time slot.

Constable Habib falls for a handsome fireman - much to the despair of long time admirer Goody - while Inspector Grimm has dreams of promotion after infiltrating a terrorist plot and apprehending the brains of the outfit… Unfortunately it turns out that Grimm’s prisoner is a well known and habitual crank caller, and Habib’s fireman is more interested in Constable Goody…

Part of the joke was that Goody ([James Dreyfus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dreyfus)) was a very camp character, and widely considered to be gay coded in the opinion of the viewing public, despite his longstanding crush on Habib. Dreyfus, an out gay actor, went on to play the first openly gay lead in a BBC sitcom (Gimme Gimme Gimme) in 1999 - though it earned him plenty of flack from all quarters, for encouraging unflattering stereotypes to the usual pearl clutching.

* * *

 

  
  


Clip from S1:E01. Constable Habib outs herself as a Johnlock shipper...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find Tumblr mirrors of these posts [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156537367523/clips-from-s2e2-of-bbc-sitcom-the-thin-blue-line), [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156691614608/clips-from-s1e2-fire-and-terror-of-bbc1) and [HERE](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/post/156442156848/constable-habib-the-johnlock-shipper-clip-from).


End file.
